Why Plant-Based is a Long-Term Solution for Sustainable Food System Transformation
Written by: Annie Tarashansky
At PBFA, we believe that the plant-based foods industry is a powerful catalyst for positive and holistic change in our food system. A food system that prioritizes producing plant-based foods is ripe with opportunities beyond a reduction in emissions; it offers our society a future of food production that can meet consumer demand for sustainable and healthier foods, create new market opportunities that fuel positive political action, bolster the creation of climate-friendly jobs and infrastructure, the list goes on. The plant-based foods industry represents an opportunity to reimagine and optimize the way we feed the world.
In this piece, we take a deeper look at the breadth of opportunities that the plant-based foods industry possesses, and invite you to reimagine with us how we produce food and nourish communities across the United States and beyond.
The Climate Solution in Plant-Based Foods
The sustainability potential for plant-based foods is not just aspirational, it is also an imperative: Studies have shown that we cannot limit global warming to the pre-industrial climate threshold of 1.5°C without addressing the impact of our food system. Compared to meat-heavy diets (defined by consumption of 3.5 or more ounces of animal meat a day, or slightly less than one McDonald’s quarter pounder), plant-based diets can result in “75 percent less land use, 54 percent less water use, and 66 percent less biodiversity loss.” To put it in other terms, this transition from meat-heavy to plant-based diets would be equivalent to taking 660 million cars off of the road.
In addition to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, lowering our reliance on industrial animal agriculture would reduce toxic runoff and antibiotic pollution from animal manure, reduce deforestation rates and biodiversity loss. By all accounts, for humans, planet, and animals, a plant-based food system is the climate solution we’ve been looking for.
Nourishing a Growing Population With Plant-Based Foods
World food demand is projected to rise by 55% between 2010 and 2050, while the United Nations projects that nearly 670 million people will still be facing hunger in 2030 (or 8 percent of the world population). At present, over 80% of our global land used for agriculture is dedicated to livestock, and an estimated 38% of croplands for their feed. In order to keep up with growing food demands in a nourishing, nutritious, and sustainable capacity, we need the space to scale crops grown directly for human consumption.
The solution exists, and it’s promising: If the U.S. substituted all land used for farming cattle, pigs, and livestock with plant production, our food system could easily feed 390 more million Americans than it presently does, a figure more than double that of the current U.S. population of 332 million. To put it simply, we need a plant-based food system to grow. Not to mention, using less land to feed our population would actually leave us in a land surplus, allowing us to repurpose agricultural land once used for animal-based food production to restore our native habitats and capture carbon – up to 72 billion tons of it, or the equivalent of seven years of global emissions from the fossil fuel industry.
Beyond Nutrition: The Intersection of Health and Equity
The health benefits that plant-based diets present is so compelling that the World Health Organization Director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently stated the urgent need for global populations to consume “more plant-based diets.” According to the Cleveland Clinic, about 80% of chronic diseases are driven by lifestyle factors, including diet. And shockingly, the CDC found that fewer than 1 in 10 adolescents and adults eat enough fruits or vegetables.
We know plant-based foods are central to healthy and nutritious diets, but moreover, they can play an important role in preventing many non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and type-2 diabetes. Studies run through the University of Oxford have found that globally adopting plant-based diets can avoid 8.1 million deaths by 2050 (thanks to a reduction in red meat consumption partnered with an increased fruit and vegetable intake). A global adoption of plant-based eating would reduce the prevalence of obesity, limit the spread of chronic diseases caused by lifestyle factors, and save, at least our U.S. healthcare system, up to $1 billion per year.
Considering the significant health benefits of plant-based foods, it is no wonder consumer demand for plant-based foods has significantly risen, especially in the past decade. Consumers are demonstrating a clear desire for plant-forward options, and often, these demands are motivated by the consumer’s individual health and sustainability goals.
Local city, state, and federal institutions have begun making great strides to address the need for plant-based options in our government-run facilities and programs – with even the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) recently updating their guidelines for the first time in a decade to include more plant-based dairy options for low income mothers and children, citing the positive nutritional evidence associated with plant-based options as their biggest motivator for the update. And over a year ago, New York City’s hospital system transitioned all meals served to be primarily “plant-based by default” in an effort to marry health and equity benefits on behalf of its patients. These wins are remarkably important: From the standpoint of equity, communities, most often communities of color, under the poverty threshold are subject to limited food access. In addition, communities of color and American minority groups have displayed a high prevalence of lactose intolerance, meaning increased access to plant-based dairy options is absolutely crucial to honoring the nutritional needs and dietary values of a diverse population. Increasing access to plant-based options is essential to a holistic view of providing delicious, nutritious foods to everyone.
The Overwhelming Economic Opportunity of Plant-Based Foods
Beyond the health and sustainability promise, the plant-based foods industry also presents a potential budding market that could open up new employment opportunities – especially with the creation of new, sustainable infrastructure that supports the rising food demands of our population – signaling a significant economic benefit associated with the transition to a plant-based food system. Reports have modeled that jobs created by a transition to a more plant-based food system would outnumber current jobs offered by our food system. In the U.S., the plant-based food industry supports more than 55,000 higher-than-average paying jobs, providing $3.3 billion in income each year, in at least 35 different states. But, in order to scale the plant-based foods industry further, government support is imperative in realizing the full potential of the plant-based market. Recent legislation introduced into congress – the Peas, Legumes, and Nuts Today (PLANT) Act – aims to expand opportunities for agricultural producers, increase consumer choice in food markets, and enhance America’s global competitiveness by establishing new government programs for food innovation and other purposes. Supportive legislature such as this can further establish new economic opportunities within the plant-based foods industry.
Through other initiatives, like the Plant Based Foods Institute’s Sustainable Sourcing Community of Practice – a program that aims to connect together brands working to diversify ingredients, support more ecological farming practices, and improve livelihoods for the people that grow and make our food – we can share knowledge, strategies, and solutions to common challenges that can help plant-based food industry stakeholders build and achieve their own sustainability goals, and strengthen our collective impact on the food system.
Committing to a Future That Serves Us All
The evidenced potential of the plant-based foods industry is clear, compelling, and centers the simple idea that we can make systems change with delicious foods. Here at PBFA and PBFI, we are working to help strengthen and expedite this potential future, advocating on behalf of our plant-based food industry members – in both the policy landscape and the retail and foodservice marketplace – in support of meaningful food system transformation. Change cannot happen overnight, but with societal and government support, we can find our way all-in on a solution that will move us towards a brighter food future that is people and planet-forward. Plant-based is a solution here and now.